Under the July Tree: +233 Jazz Bar & Grill

Photo credit: touristswatch.com

Location: North Ridge, opposite Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC)

Price range: Food 10-40 cedis, Drinks (cocktails available) 5-30 cedis. 

Cuisine type: Ghanaian finger-food and American fare (burgers, fries, khebabs, kelewele...)

Dress code: Casual (tip: wear jeans/longsleeves so you won't be bothered by mosquitos while seated outside)

Hours: Open Mon-Thursday 5pm-2:30am, Friday 5pm-4am, and weekends from 2pm-4am.

I had the wonderful opportunity to visit +233 Jazz Bar & Grill this week for a few drinks with a girlfriend. The place is so (cleverly) named after the international dialing code used to call Ghana when abroad. It is a large purple building with +233 written in neon lights. 

The ambience of the place resembles that of jazz clubs I have frequented in NYC and other parts of the USA. However, I am happy to report that  +233 is happily devoid of any of the smoke or ever so slight seediness that sometimes accompanies such spots. This can largely be attributed to its large outdoor patio and upstairs terrace.  It affords you the opportunity to dine and sip cocktails while listening to the live band outdoors rather than in a dark basement. While the band plays outdoors you may choose to seat yourselves inside or outside. You are still able to view the band when seated inside because the back half of the building is a clear glass wall. 

When my ladydate and I arrived around 6pm we had the entire space to ourselves but other people steadily trickled in and settled on the lower terrace.  There is a certain amount of privacy associated with the upper terrace (where we sat) and it provides an excellent view of the stage. There is an enormous tree that sort of wraps itself around the staircase to the upper terrace and provides you with some shade while you are seated up there. The band started setting up before we even arrived but, to our amusement, they did not start playing until 8pm. This worked out in our favor as we were primarily interested in catching up with one another and it was impossible to hear each other once the band started playing. Overall, we had a great time! 

The band was very good and the crowd of dinners on the lower patio showered them with the appropriate amount of praise. There was no singer for the night, just instruments and good vibes. I have heard there may be an entrance charge sometimes when the band is playing but we were not asked to pay anything. 

Due to the noise level of the band, this is not a place I would encourage you to patronize for first dates where you are trying to get to know one another or nights when you just want to chat. However, it is perfect for a mellow evening where the goal is to grab something off the grill and sip drinks while letting the music help you both unwind from a long day. I look forward to going back on a night where a singer will be accompanying the band. I am not aware of many Ghanaian jazz vocalists but I am looking forward to discovering some with the help of +233. 

I don't have a great review of the food here because we only sampled the finger-food. We ordered the chicken kebabs, french fries, and kelewele. I don't think either of us enjoyed the chicken khebabs much but the french fries and kelewele were fine! My custom cocktail was delicious though. :)

The only Ghanaian jazz performer I am aware of is Jojo Abot but she is based outside of Ghana right now. If you haven't heard any of her songs before I highly encourage you to give her a try as she so incredibly conscious and eloquent while being both visually and acoustically riveting. She infuses jazz with her Ewe heritage beautifully: some of Jojo Abot's music.

*Today's post title is a homage to +233's tree, our current month of July, and Nina Simone's (my favorite jazz queen) beautiful love song July Tree. 

Directions: It is a large purple building with +233 in neon lights.  It is directly opposite of Ghana Broadcasting Corporation on the road to Asylum Down/Circle but you cannot drive there from the main road. 

(Sorry for the fuzzy photos)

Paint Me A Red, Red Rose: Paint Fiesta Ghana

Time commitment: 2 hours
Price: 40 cedis per person
Venue: Every Monday night at 7-10pm at the Republic Bar and every Saturday from 4pm-8pm at H20 Bar and Restaurant in East Legon.
RSVP: Need to register beforehand by messaging six four six nine four three zero three eight one

My favourite painting has always been Picasso's Ma Jolie, "my pretty". It was painted between 1911 and 1912 during his cubism period and is a portrait of his beloved. Picasso always seemed to paint the unexpected but during this period his innovation was to move beyond painting the traditional 3-dimensional view of objects. Instead, he attempted to depict objects from all angles at once instead of just the parts of the object that are visible to our eyes based on our position to the object. So the act of painting his lover from all angles, simultaneously acknowledging and appreciating all sides of her as each adored feature emerged from of his brush strokes in a manner as chaotic and unbridled as his love for her, was quite the metaphoric love letter. Which leads me to today’s feature...

In case you haven’t guessed, the theme of today’s date night post is painting for couples! I was very excited to try out Paint Fiesta Ghana's paint night event. I haven’t really painted since middle school and Beau hadn’t either so we were both hooked by Paint Fiesta’s promotion of their events being friendly towards beginners with absolutely no experience.

Their website advertises each event by saying, “Just follow along while our social master artist guides you step-by-step through the featured painting in about two hours.”

No experience necessary? Instructor led painting class? FREE cocktails? Check, check, and check- Say no more!

You get a double bonus today as both Beau and I will be reviewing this date night activity. Here is Beau’s review of the experience:

A: How did you feel when I suggested trying out paint night?
Beau: I was looking forward to it, more so because I was eager to see how well I would do given it was my first time.

A: How did you feel about the location?
B: The location was fine. I'm a big fan of the Republic Bar because of the Afropolitan ambiance, so I had no reservations there.

A: How did you feel about the overall experience with me?
B: Oh, it was dead awful.... (jk).. I enjoyed it. I secretly wanted to gauge your artistic skills. I guess I satisfied my curiosity. ha! But it was very thoughtful of you given art is something I love but had lost touch with. You inspired a new hobby. :)
The paint crew seemed nonchalant though, somewhat unprofessional. The instructor though- dude we paid for this, how you gonna tell us to “do what we want”? He painted eventually, but his painting seemed average! I noticed a first time painter’s (woman) work was better than his. Smh. The drinks were pretty standard. Kokroko is the signature drink for Republic.
Is this value for money? Yes and no. In terms of spending time with my booboo and doing something new, yes. In terms of actually learning the basics of painting (direction), like what brush to use, the combination of colors* etc.. no.. I am better off buying paint supplies and watching YouTube instruction videos.
*Note that Beau is being polite here. He asked the artist how to make brown paint and was told to combine green and blue. By trial and error we figured out it is actually red and green.

A: Would you recommend it to another person to take someone on a date?
B: Yes, just don't go with super high expectations. Just go there with the notion of having fun.

A: Any helpful tips you would give to someone?
B: Try to wrap up by 9:30pm - ish, because the lights go out by then and they don't tell you prior to beginning.

My positive experiences of the night were that Beau made me laugh so hard I cried three times, I had an amazingly delicious Republic Bar cocktail (the secret is the local Ghanaian gin, akpeteshie!), I had an okay time painting, and I had a great time with Beau and got to see firsthand how talented of an artist he is. It goes to show you that the most important part of a date is who you are with. :)

The unpleasant side of the night was the professionalism of the team. They were almost an hour late in arriving and setting up (no one apologized to us) and they were sullen and quiet the entire time. It was not an environment where you would have a good time if you weren’t already determined to have fun.  At the start the instructor came around to let us know that he would not be painting or leading us because he wanted to “allow us to do our own thing”. I politely informed him that was not what was advertised or what we paid for. He finally agreed to paint with us but it was clear he wanted to be somewhere else and very early on he stopped offering instruction and just finished up his painting by himself.

I am not a natural talent like Beau so I was really looking forward to instruction and tips but there were little to none offered. It was terribly disappointing. It was especially frustrating as the instructor offered opinions about my finished work at the end despite not helping us at all.

To be fair, I have spoken to others who have gone to this event who seemed to have a different artist and were provided actual instruction and loved it. I’m just sad this wasn’t our experience. This event is a really great idea but proper execution is key. I think it is still worth trying out as that may have been a one-off night and I have heard others express that they enjoyed it. There was just little effort put into making it enjoyable for us. 

As for Beau and I, in the future we will probably just grab some art supplies, a bottle of our favourite wine, find a YouTube painter we like, and have at home paint night dates! We will update you as soon as we have our first one.   

For the curious, here is the link to the inspiration for today's post title: A Red, Red Rose

Directions: The Republic Bar is near the famous Oxford Street in Osu. Once you get there you should head to the mall/casino. The bar is on a little side street that is next to the casino. I'm sure GoogleMaps has this location as it is quite popular with foreigners.
 H20 Restaurant and Bar is located by American House in East Legon, just a couple of steps from the trotro/taxi station. Getting to the right location is simple as American House is known to everyone, but it may be trickier to spot H2O. It is a newer establishment so people may not be as familiar with it but it is blue and has a large outdoor screen where they show live football matches. 

Stars in Your Eyes: The Ghana Planetarium

This is a photo of the Eagle Nebula in 2014. Credit: NASA

Time commitment: 2 hours
Price: 5 cedis per adult
Venue: Ghana Planetarium (behind Christ the King)

Beau and I are quite fascinated by space; there are so many interesting things being written and produced in the science-fiction television and literary world that we really enjoy. However, even in our own reality, there are many amazing new discoveries and theories about space being published by scientists all over the world.

To feed our curiosity we have had our hearts set on visiting the Ghanaian Planetarium Science Center for ages. However, this has been complicated due to a myriad of reasons: the planetarium only has events open to the general public about once a month, usually on a Saturday evening. To get information on the exact date it will fall on, you first have to contact sarahatmasters@gmail.com to sign up for the listserve and hope your schedule is open that evening. In this rainy season, your next step is to send a quick prayer to the heavens for clear enough skies to enable a telescope viewing.

If all the cards fall in your favor then you are in for a treat!

According to the website and the emails I have received, the usual order of things is:

• 5:30pm: An initial general discussion on an astronomy topic. (They seem to always have a theme for the day.) 
• 6pm: A planetarium show (no idea what this entails, but surprises are fun!)
• 6:30pm-7:30pm: A telescope viewing (if there are no clouds blocking the view)

Another big plus is it is very decently priced at 5 cedis per adult and 3 cedis for children and students. You do not even need to make reservations ahead of time. Although this is a trickier date to schedule and successfully accomplish, it seems well worth the effort.

Let us know if you have been to this event before and how it went! We will post a review once we attend.

A

Directions: The Planetarium Science Center is located on the road behind Christ the King School.  It is on the same compound as Quality Distance Learning and Office Automation Systems (QDL). Follows the signs for QDL and you should see giraffes in front of the planetarium. 

A Mini Safari For Two: Shai Hills Resource Reserve

Time commitment: 1 hour drive to location, 2 hours onsite
Price: 50 cedis per car and 10 cedis per person
Venue: Shai Hills Resource Reserve

One of my favorite date adventures with Beau has been our trip to Shai Hills. It was a while ago so bear with me regarding my slightly foggy recollection of some of the finer details.

It was Beau's first time hiking and rock climbing and he was a good sport but his interest level was at a two out of five at the start of the day. Waking up super early on a Saturday to get there maaaaay have slightly influenced that, haha. However, he ended the day at a 5/5 rating and as a true convert who wanted to return ASAP. So it doesn't matter if this is your first time or you are experienced; if you are an animal lover, nature lover, hiker, or just an adventure junkie Shai Hills has something for you!

Shai Hills is located about an hour outside of Accra on the Tema-Akosombo road. It is quite large; it has an area of about 20 square miles (or 50km roughly). We got there easily using Googlemaps (yes, it works fine in Ghana). The landscape varies from large hills (surprise!) to large swaths of tall grasses where antelope abound. Once you get to the caves and hilltops you can't really see the roadside or "civilization" and the reserve becomes quite a peaceful oasis.

Things you can see/do:

• Feed the ostriches some grass and learn a bit about them.
• Get within a few feet of wild baboons. There about 40 groups with 20 members each (or something like that).
• See the antelope. They are a bit skittish so you can't get close. 
• Climb rocky hills. They can be selected based on your fitness level and the amount of time you want to devote to it. Ours took just about 30 minutes with long stops to soak in the views but some hills can take hours. Just let the ranger know what you prefer.
• Visit caves. There are about 3 to 5 and at least one has bats (harmless fruit bats). 
• Visit the various spots where the Shai people used to reside- e.g. where the Shai girls stayed during their womanhood initiations, where the Shai chief lived, etc. 
• Go birdwatching.
• Going from site to site you have long, beautiful, peaceful stretches of grass and hills. Don't forget to enjoy the ride and take that in as well! 
• Camp overnight. They can host large or small groups if you want to have some sort of overnight event. It would be an amazing location for stargazing, camping, and maybe even glamping but keep in mind most animals (like hyenas) are active at night.  
• The Shai people have festivals/ceremonies at certain parts of the year: Mymayen is in September/October (headtilt to dearghana.com as I could not remember the name/time)

Animals in the reserve:

• Baboons, ostriches, many different types of birds, hyenas, anacondas, bats, a type of monkey species whose name I have forgotten...More details on the wildlife 

Tips before you go:

• Take a 4x4 vehicle. 
• You have to drive a bit of a distance to see the good stuff and the paths have not been cleared. The reserve does not have its own car so you have to use your own. Our car's  non 4x4 bottom got scraped a few times when we went over some ditches. 
• We spent about 70 cedis plus a tip for our guide. There is a charge per vehicle and then per passenger I believe. So most likely a 50 cedi flat fee and then 10 cedis per person. 
• A park ranger will accompany you to guide you during the trip
• Make sure there is space in your car for him/her. They have all lived there for sometime and work very hard and are passionate about protecting the reserve. Accompanying you is part of how they protect the place and ensure people don't come to illegally hunt the animals or get lost. Once you go into the reserve it is hard to navigate your way back alone. Be respectful and attentive and tip well. 
• Dress appropriately for hiking
• Sneakers, sunscreen, longsleeves, shorts, a hat etc. 
• Bring water, snacks 
• We spent at least 2 hours at the reserve and barely scratched at the surface of all we could have done. However, there wasn't any food being sold. Luckily, we brought snacks. :)
• Arrive by 8-9 so that you can see the animals before they go to find shelter from the midday heat.
• If you want to see the birds you have to get there very early (around 6am-7am).
• Once you arrive at the gate will immediately be greeted by wild baboons. 
• They are friendly in the sense that they will not try to immediately devour you and may approach you for food BUT remember that they are still wild animals with sharp teeth and crazy strength. Don't panic but use common sense (e.g. don't carry snacks with you while on foot or tease them). 

Our guide's name was Jacob and we highly recommend him. You can reach him at zero two seven six zero four six four seven seven.

Let us know how this adventure goes if you decide to visit!

A

Additional resources:
Many other reviews of trips to Shai Hills